Mental health and teen suicide are subject matters often explored on the stage, and in the absence of a physical performance space in the current time, writer William Tippery has turned to the medium of radio with new play F.I.N.E. to explore these important themes.
Created during lockdown, and recorded by seven artists from four different countries, the audio has been superbly edited together to create a compelling whole that delves deep in to a young teens troubled life. While this medium has been well utilised over the last seven months, there’s a stark difference between recording a play and creating a true radio play. In both writer and director capacity William Tippery has definitely succeeded at the latter, with this dark thriller like piece of writing.
The story centres around Kaitlyn (Sarah Joanou), a student facing more than the usual high school pressures; as friends turn against her and family life falls apart, she finds comfort in speaking to both a counsellor (Sharon Crandall) and Samael, a seemingly new student at the school – played by Tippery now taking on an acting role.
F.I.N.E. is filled with dark twists and turns, and this complex and layered piece of writing seems to draw the audience down several different paths all at once, eventually leading us to a heart-wrenching and inescapable conclusion. The concept of family troubles; an absent brother and pending parental divorce adds pressure to Kaitlyn’s already precarious mental state.
The hypnotically pulsating sound design from Tyler Dumoulin only heightens the tension, Kaitlyn’s description of self-harm tied in to the release replicated in the sound and music makes for a compellingly disturbing moment of drama.
With F.I.N.E., William Tippery has created a vitally important piece of work which gives issues of mental health the space to breathe in a format that will reach new audiences beyond the typical proscenium arch. That said, when theatres reopen, this would be an ideal piece of work to be expanded upon, and to give voice to those marginalised in a typical theatrical construct.
F.I.N.E is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts.
